Author: Chmshkian Vicken

Baku Sun, Azerbaijan
June 30 2006

Referendum in Karabakh?

BAKU – While mediators representing the United States, Russia and
France came up with a framework agreement on how to end the
18-year-old conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, the Armenian and
Azerbaijani foreign ministries traded bitter accusations, blaming
each other for the failure of peace negotiations.

In an interview with RFE/RL on 22 June, Matthew Bryza – the newly
appointed US co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group – said the framework
agreement envisages Armenia’s withdrawal from Azerbaijan’s occupied
territories, the restoration of diplomatic and economic ties between
Baku and Yerevan, the deployment of peacekeepers to the conflict
zone, international economic assistance to Nagorno-Karabakh, and a
vote `at some point’ on the future status of the region. `So that’s
kind of the basic outline of the proposal on the table, and we would
very much encourage the [Azerbaijani and Armenian] presidents to
accept this framework, which requires a lot of political courage,
which I’ve said publicly before,’ Bryza said.

In the meantime, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said the talks
mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group were leading nowhere. Speaking at
the graduation ceremony of a higher military school in Baku, Aliyev
reiterated that Armenia’s refusal to withdraw from the occupied
territories of Azerbaijan could make the latter resort to military
action.

Aliyev said his country’s growing military spending – which amounted
to over $700 million in 2006 compared to Armenia’s $150 million –
would enable it to regain control of the Armenian occupied
territories by military force.

Nagorno-Karabakh, which is internationally recognized as part of
Azerbaijan, is home to nearly 100,000 ethnic Armenians. The Armenians
captured Nagorno-Karabakh, along with seven administrative districts
of Azerbaijan, in the early 1990s, expelling some 700,000 people from
their homes. The occupied territories account for nearly 20 per cent
of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized area.

Armenia responded on Monday, blaming the failure of the Karabakh
talks on Azerbaijan. In a statement carried by the Arminfo news
agency, the Armenian Foreign Ministry accused Baku of turning down
peace proposals offered by the OSCE Minsk Group, but did not
elaborate on the proposals.

The Armenian ministry threatened to pull out of the talks: `If
Azerbaijan continues its policy, Armenia will insist that Azerbaijan
talks directly to Nagorno-Karabakh,’ the ministry said, adding that
Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh would never give up their
`independence’. `Once again we want to tell Azerbaijan that no one
can force the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to give up the right to
freedom and self-determination, no matter how large their military
budget is,’ the statement read. Referendum

To the surprise of many in Azerbaijan, the Armenian Foreign Ministry
said the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents had agreed on the
holding of a referendum in Nagorno-Karabakh to define the region’s
political status.

`There is no disagreement on the issue of a referendum. The
Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents have already agreed on this,’ the
statement read, adding that the mediators also support the idea of
holding a vote in Nagorno-Karabakh.

`For the first time ever, the co-chairmen [of the OSCE Minsk Group]
have said that Nagorno-Karabakh’s status should be decided by the
people of Nagorno-Karabakh in a referendum,’ the Armenian Foreign
Ministry said.

What still causes disagreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan is how
to liquidate the ramifications of the military conflict by stages,
the statement went on.

`Armenia believes that, in general, the principles set out by the
OSCE Minsk Group co-chairman serve as grounds for continuing the
talks, and we are ready to hold talks with Azerbaijan based on [these
principles],’ the statement read.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, however, said that
any referendum in the ethnic Armenian-populated region of the country
should be held in keeping with the Azerbaijani Constitution, and only
after the Azerbaijanis expelled from Nagorno-Karabakh are allowed
back. An estimated 40,000 Azerbaijanis were expelled from the region
during the hostilities. In a statement released on Tuesday,
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence or
unification with Armenia is out of the question. `Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity is not and cannot be a subject of
negotiations… If the negotiation process breaks up, responsibility
for this and its further consequences will rest with the Armenian
side,’ the Foreign Ministry said, but also reiterated Azerbaijan’s
commitment to finding a negotiated settlement of the conflict.

`Azerbaijan reiterates that it is ready to grant Nagorno-Karabakh the
highest-level of autonomy in line with the Azerbaijani Constitution
and within the framework of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized
territorial integrity,’ the statement read. Eldar Namazov, a
political analyst who headed former President Heydar Aliyev’s
secretariat in the late 1990s, said it would be a grave political
mistake on the part of Azerbaijan if it gave the go ahead to a
referendum in the Armenian-occupied territory.

`It would be contrary to Azerbaijan’s interests,’ Namazov said in an
interview with Baku Sun. `It may be that Azerbaijan is making
promises under duress. But this could have bitter consequences for
Azerbaijan,’ the analyst said.

Kenya Times, Kenya
July 1 2006

Witness tells of Kalonzo, Arturs encounter

MP met the two people by chance, Kiruki commission told

By MAXWELL MASAVA & EMMANUEL ONYANGO

A MEETING between former Cabinet minister Kalonzo Musyoka and the two
deported Artur brothers was accidental, a commission inquiring into
their presence and activities in the country was told yesterday.

Rajendra Ratilal Sanghani commonly referred to as Raju Sanghani told
the commission yesterday that the Arturs, together with a third
person identified as Zakir Omar, met Musyoka by chance while on a
visit to Serena Hotel sometimes in November 2005.

Sanghani, the third witness to testify before the commission narrated
how he came to know the two brothers claiming that he met them in
Nairobi on November 10, 2005, after they had jetted in alongside
Zakir to explore business opportunities.

`We met many people among them Kalonzo to whom I introduced Zakir and
his group. At that time when they realized that he was a former
Minister of Foreign Affairs, they wanted to seek his opinion on some
investments they wanted to make in other neighbouring countries and
Congo. Since Hon Musyoka was busy at that time, he said he was going
to be in Grand Regency Hotel that evening for a different meeting. He
said he would spare them some moments there,’ he said while
exonerating Kalonzo on allegations of a planned meeting.

He also said the photograph session between the group and Mwingi
North MP was taken in good faith and he never thought the same could
be used for political reasons.

He told the commission that it was through Zakir that he came to know
Arturs as investors and members of Royal Families back in Armenia.
Zakir introduced Sargasyan and Margaryan as Mr Arthur and James
respectively, Sanghani told the commission.

Sanghani told the commission being headed by Shedrack Kiruki that he
also introduced the two brothers to many of his friends as Arthur and
James.

He told the commission that he had met his old acquittance, Zakir,
while on a trip in Mumbai, India, in May 2005 where they discussed
business opportunities in Kenya.

In his testimony, he said Zakir called later in October of the same
year expressing interest to invest in Kenyan market and arrived in
the country later in the same month accompanied by two other people
who turned out to be the Arturs.

While being guided by his lawyer, Mr Ladji, Sanghani told the
commission that he had all along believed that the Arturs were
genuine investors until March, this year, when their activities
started coming under intense scrutiny by the media.

He said the housing business alone would have seen him earn Sh300
million in profit had the two brothers not been deported.

He denied having invited the two brothers to the country but admitted
to having sent his emissaries to receive them at Jomo Kenyatta
International Airport on the day they arrived in the country.

He also admitted to having booked them at Grand Regency Hotel on
their first visit and later renting them the palatial house in
upmarket Runda Estate when they returned last year to execute their
investments.

Kalonzo was adversely mentioned by the two brothers during their
controversial stay in the country.

Alongside Langata MP Raila Odinga, Kalonzo was claimed to have
visited the two with the aim of accessing funds to topple the
Government.

The MPs denied the claims, saying the two were mercenaries hired by
the State to taint their names.

G-8 FOREIGN MINISTERS CALL FOR PROMPT RESOLUTION OF REGIONAL CONFLICTS IN EX-SOVIET UNION, BALKANS

AP Worldstream
Jun 29, 2006

Foreign ministers from the Group of Eight major industrialized nations
on Thursday called for a prompt resolution to regional conflicts that
continue to plague some ex-Soviet territories and Balkan countries.

In a joint statement, diplomats called for the ex-Soviet South Caucasus
states of Armenia and Azerbaijan to reach an agreement this year on
the long and bitterly disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

"We call on Azerbaijan and Armenia to show political will with the
aim to reach an agreement this year and prepare their peoples for
peace and not for war," the document said.

Nagorno-Karabakh is inside Azerbaijan, but is populated mostly by
ethnic Armenians, who have run it and seven contiguous districts since
an uneasy 1994 cease-fire ended six years of full-scale war. Sporadic
border clashes regularly break out. The unresolved conflict has held
up development in the strategic region.

The ministers also urged a solution for the Serbian province,
Kosovo. The ethnic Albanian majority want to become independent,
but the Serb minority wants it to remain part of Serbia.

"We welcomed the launch of direct Belgrade-Pristina talks and in this
regard we urge the parties, including the Kosovo Serbs, to negotiate
in good faith and make every effort to reach a negotiated agreement,"
the ministers said.

"We underline that Kosovo must remain multiethnic. The Kosovo
leadership should pay particular attention to implementing the
standards for national minorities defined by the international
community," the statement said.

GREG REALTY TO PREPARE 4TH GEORGIA-ARMENIA POWER LINE

Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS Energy Newswire
June 28, 2006 Wednesday 12:36 PM MSK

The U.S. company Greg Realty has won a tender to prepare a project for
the construction of a fourth power line between Armenia and Georgia,
Levon Vardanian, director of the development and PR department at
the Armenian Energy Ministry, told Interfax.

He said that the Georgian Energy Ministry called the tender. The
project work, which will be financed by the Georgian side, should be
completed by the end of 2006.

The 400 kilo-volt line will be the only power line capable of ensuring
the parallel work of the energy systems of both countries.

Vardanian said that the cost of the project and sources of financing
are still under discussion. Initially it was planned to complete
construction by the end of 2006, but work on the project dragged out,
he said.

Armenia and Georgia are currently connected by three power lines:
two 110 kilo-volts and one 220 kilo-volts.

Armenian Energy Minister Armen Movsisian told journalists earlier
that after the construction of the fourth line the capacity between
the two countries would amount to 650 megawatts.

SUGGESTIONS OF TEH DARTMOUTH CONFERENCE ARE BASED UPON AN AGREEMENT OF EQUAL CONCESSIONS

ArmRadio.am
28.06.2006 16:29

Minks Group suggestions for settlement of the Karabakh conflict are
unacceptable. What is suitable is the suggestion of the Dartmouth
Conference, based upon an agreement of equal concessions. The
agreements of the Dartmouth Group were signed between representatives
of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Karabakh. From the Armenian side
the Dartmouth conference was attended by Vice-President of the
Constitutional Right Union Hayk Babukhanyan, former Human Rights
Defender Larisa Alaverdyan, ex-Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutyunyan
and President of the Democratic Party Aram Gaspar Sargsyan. The latter
condemned the suggestions of the framework agreement, considering
the deal impermissible. He added several more discoveries to the
ones made by US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Matthew Bryza. Thus,
according to this framework agreement, Armenia should make territorial
concession.

"Five liberated territories should be given to Azerbaijan, and it is
clearly mentioned on the map where the peacekeeping forces will be
deployed, " he noted.

President of the Democratic Party and Vice-President of the
Constitutional Right Union consider that the reaction of RA Ministry
of Foreign affairs confirmed that the Armenian side is ready to accept
the suggestions, while Azerbaijan refutes these.

Aram Sargsyan and other members of the Armenian side of the Dartmouth
Group demand from the Armenian authorities to unveil the whole content
of the document.

"Otherwise the situation will aggravate so much that we’ll have to
return to February, 1988," Aram Sargsyan predicts.

ARMENIAN PATRIARCH KAREKIN DEFENDS ARMENIAN CLAIMS IN TURKEY
By Melike Duransoy, JTW

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
June 27 2007

* Karekin II: "Ankara should recognise the Armenian massacre"

* Armenian Patriarch Karekin Defends Armenian Claims in Turkey. Turks
say that if a Turkish man defends Turkish ideas on the histoical
claims in Armenia he or she would face very rude attitudes

* Karekin II conducted a service on Sunday in the central church of
the Turkish Armenian Patriarchy, Istanbul

* NATO PA Vice-president, Turkish diplomat Vahit Erdem had been
deprived of the office car and guard and he was considered as ‘enemy’
because of his statements on the historical Armenian claims

ISTANBUL (JTW)- Armenian General Patriarch Karekin II, currently on
a visit to Turkey, on Sunday said that Ankara should recognise the
so-called Armenian genocide of 1915.

Speaking at a press conference after conducting a mass in an Armenian
church in Istanbul, Karekin II said the allegations of genocide against
the Ottoman Empire’s Armenian community had been studied for 90 years
by academics and there is no for any discussion or any more study on
the issue.

"For our people the genocide is not an issue of research," he said.

"This is an incident that has happened and its has to be recognised."

Turkey has not accepted the Armenian allegations since the
establishment of the modern republic. Turks argue that more
than 520,000 Turkish people were massacred by the armed Armenian
groups during the First World War and there was no genocide or any
state-sponsored massacre against Armenians.

Karekin II said that Armenia was very willing to develop relations
with Turkey and stressed that if the two countries worked together
constructive solutions could be found to the problem.

In response to Turkey giving high points to Armenia in the Eurovision
Song Contest, Karekin II said that this should be seen as a positive
step.

Turkish Armenian experts however argues that Karekin II is lucky
because he was speaking in a ‘democratic country’. Dr. Nilgun Gulcan
for instance told the JTW that no Turkish could defend Turkish
perspective in Armenia.

Dr. Gulcan further says:

"You may find any pro-Armenian book in Turkish bookstores and you
can freely defend the Armenian or any other perspectives in Turkey.

Almost all ‘genocide’ literature have been translated Turkish
language. We clearly understood what the Armenians think about the
1915 Events. But Armenians have no idea about Turkish perspective.

They do not listen. They think that, if they listen to the Turks,
they would commit a great sin. You have to risk your life to defend
Turkish perspective in Armenia. No Turk defending Turkish perspective
could go to Armenia. A Turkish historian was in Armenia last year
and spent months in an Armenian prison. And Turkish MP and NATO PA
Vice-president Vahit Erdem faced difficulties in yerevan when he said
that there was no genocide at all."

Turkish prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan offered to establish a common
commission to discuss the historical disputes between the Turks and
Armenians, however Arzmenia rejected the offer and declared "there
is nothing to be discussed".

According to Dr. Sedat laciner from Ankara-based Turkish
think tank USAK, the Armenian approach regarding the past is
"shut-up-and-accept-it" policy. "They do not listen to what you say.

They try to order Turkish people to accept what they think. This is
not the best way to develop any co-operation" Dr. Laciner says.

THERE IS A GREAT POTENTIAL FOR COOPERATION BETWEEN ARMENIA AND BULGARIA

ArmRadio.am
26.06.2006 17:43

The recurrent fourth sitting of the Armenian-Bulgarian
intergovernmental commission for trade-economic and
scientific-technical cooperation started today in Yerevan.

The trade-economic cooperation between the two countries should be
activated, stated the Co-Chairs of the Commission – RA Minister of
Transport and Communication of Armenia Andranik Manukyan and the
Minister of State Governance and Administrative Reforms of Bulgaria
Nicolas Vasilev. In 2005 the volume of commodity turnover between
Armenia and Bulgaria totaled US$85 million. Although this index
is rather high as compared to US$10-12 million in 2003, it does
not satisfy RA Minister of Transport and Communication, Armenian
Co-Chair of the Armenian-Bulgarian intergovernmental commission
for trade-economic and scientific-technical cooperation Andranik
Manukyan. In his opinion, the economic relations should be as active
and warm as the political ties.

The Bulgarian Co-Chair of the Commission, Minister of State Governance
and Administrative Reforms of Bulgaria Nicolas Vasilev considers that
there is a great potential for cooperation between the two countries,
which should be utilized to further improve the relations between
Armenia and Bulgaria.

"ONE NATION, ONE CULTURE" SECOND ALL ARMENIAN CULTURAL FESTIVAL STARTS

Noyan Tapan
Jun 26 2006

YEREVAN, JUNE 26, NOYAN TAPAN. The solemn opening ceremony of the
"One Nation, One Culture" second All Armenian cultural festival took
place in the K.Demirchian Sports and Concert Complex on June 23. RA
National Assembly Speaker Tigran Torosian, Culture and Youth Issues
Minister Hasmik Poghosian were present at the ceremony. Numerous
cultural figures arrived from France, Austria, U.S., Syria, Lebanon,
Iran participated in the opening ceremony.

Welcoming the festival participants, Tigran Torosian mentioned that
this festival which has become traditional, is one of the best displays
of development and presentation of national culture. He expressed
confidence that owing to the festival, the cultural cooperation will
more develop between the Fatherland and Diaspora. According to the
NA Speaker, everybody’s debt is to do its best for making closer
cultural relations between Diaspora and Armenia.

The State Dance and "Berd" ensembles of Armenia as well as a number
of folk groups performed at the festive concert followed the opening
ceremony.

According to the festival participants, the festival strengthened
the consience and feeling of being one nation, newly revealed variety
and deepness of our national culture.

press scanner

TDN
Saturday, June 24, 2006

Greek Cypriot diplomat’s misadventures in Baku:

The misadventures of a Greek Cypriot diplomat who showed up in
the Azeri capital of Baku hoping to interfere with decisions at the
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) foreign ministers, who met
to express full support for northern Cyprus, are covered in yesterday’s
Hürriyet. Hürriyet reports that southern Cyprus’ ambassador to Moscow,
Leonidas Pantelides, arrived in Baku on June 19 hoping to get into
the OIC meeting. Following his arrival, however, Azeri authorities,
who had apparently been informed by Ankara of the Greek Cypriots’
intentions of sending someone to the meeting, told Pantelides that
he was "not accredited" as a diplomat for the meeting and added that
there were no hotel rooms available for him, either.

Hürriyet reports: "The Azeri authorities, after telling the
Greek Cypriot diplomat that they would not be able to extend him
accreditation, told him all the hotels in the city were full and
that he could not get a room. They did however tell Pantelides that
his coming to Baku as a ‘tourist’ was not a problem. … The Azeri
authorities then proceeded to keep the Greek Cypriot ambassador under
observation through the night of June 19 until the morning of June 20,
noting that Pantelides spent the entire night going between open bars
and restaurants, and the streets."

On the trail of the 70 kilo, six-meter python:

The story of the python that went missing from Ankara’s zoo is given
generous coverage in yesterday’s Vatan daily, which says: "Though
many are saying that the snake escaped when the doors to its cage
were left open, the possibility that it was stolen is looking more
and more realistic. The belief that it was kidnapped is supported by
the fact that the snake’s skin is very valuable and that it could be
used for circus performances." The Environment Ministry is reportedly
scanning the area around the zoo with thermal cameras to see if it can
pick up a trace of the 70 kilo, six-meter snake, while the Turkish
Veterinary Association is telling residents what they should do if
they happen to come across the python. "If you see it, the best idea
is to run/get away from it."

The association notes that the python can open its mouth much wider
than its own body and that, as such, it could attack and swallow even
a goat or a deer. The Vatan article reports on Ankara Mayor Melih
Gokcek’s reaction to the story of the missing animal: "The python is
not a fast-moving creature. I think for this reason we will find it.

It seems to me that someone put the python in a bag and left the
zoo with it." In response to a reporter’s question about whether he
thought the python had been eaten, Gokcek said: "What part of the
python could be eaten? Who would eat it? Not in Turkey, it would not
be eaten here. It would be eaten in China. I don’t think it became
a kebab or anything."

Karekin II, worldwide leader of Armenian Orthodoxy, visits Istanbul:

Sabah daily yesterday covered the visit by the head of the worldwide
Armenian Orthodox Church, Karekin II, to Istanbul. Karekin II took
a trip to the small island of Heybeliada off Istanbul on Thursday,
where he stopped by both the Heybeliada seminary (which has been
the focus of much controversy over past years), and the Aya Triada
Monastery. Sabah reports that Karekin II’s visit to the island was
met with very high security, so much so that two people holding a
sign that asked "Did Karekin come to kiss the hand of Bartolomeos?"

100 meters from the monastery on Heybeliada were arrested by security
forces. Karekin II was accompanied on his Heybeliada visit by both
Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartolomeos and the Patriarch of Turkish
Armenians, Mesrob II.

Sabah reports that the three religious leaders "got into a police
escort" and drove to the Heybeliada seminary and were met by various
school and monastery authorities there that presented him with gifts.

"The three leaders then walked around the garden of the seminary
for a while, collecting flowers as they did so, and then posed for
press with flowers in their hands." In a brief sidebar to news of
Karekin II’s visit, the Sabah report notes that the visit by the
religious delegation to Heybeliada was protested by a group of 30 or
so people headed by nationalist lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz. Kerincsiz was
reportedly first allowed and then stopped from making statements to
the press in front of the Heybeliada seminary, after which he yelled
"Arrest me!" to the police.

Football frenzy spills over into flag attacks:

A human interest story which captures one of the most passionate
subjects in Istanbul and across Turkey is covered in yesterday’s
Radikal daily: the tale of the giant Galatasaray flag that has been
hung on the Bosporus Bridge, and attacked three times in six days.

Radikal reports that the Galatasaray authorities are planning to hang
a new giant flag for their team on Friday, this after the two previous
flags were thrown into the Bosporus by attackers. The article explains:
"The first 100×30 meter flag was hung on June 16.

Four days later, a group calling themselves the ‘Young Fenerbahçe fans’
cut the ropes hanging the flag, dropping it into the Bosporus.

The group of five was arrested for their crime, and then set free the
next morning, while the Galatasaray leadership prepared to hang the
second flag." Radikal reports the second flag didn’t fair much better,
with an attempt to cut its ropes failing because of the small size
of the knives the attackers were using. Another attempt to burn the
flag on Thursday morning was recorded by a pro-Fenerbahçe Web site,
which used music to accompany its message to Galatasaray fans that
"You hang it, we will cut it or burn it…"

–Boundary_(ID_iCaA7xL8t9FOHFOnXRvcEQ )–

The Nation, Kenya
June 23 2006

Port acts on Artur containers
Story by PATRICK MAYOYO

Publication Date: 06/23/2006

CID and Customs officers are compiling a list of all cargo linked to
the deported Armenian brothers which has arrived at the Mombasa port.

At the same time, the verification of two other containers linked to
Mr Artur Margaryan and Mr Artur Sargsyan have been suspended until
the inventory is ready.

A Kenya Revenue Authority official told the Nation yesterday that
details of 29 containers linked to the Armenians had been found.

"Manifests filed by clearing and forwarding agents with us show
that there are 29 containers which have been imported by Kensington
International Ltd, some of whose directors are the Artur brothers,"
he said.

Once the inventory is ready, he noted, KPA would carry out "a 100
per cent verification" to establish if the containers had contraband
goods and if there were cases of undervaluation and false declarations.

"Once the inventory exercise is over, we are going to involve all
government agencies in the verification exercise so as to eradicate
inconsistencies," he added.

On Friday, Trade ministry officials complained about what they termed
exclusion from the verification of a container linked to the deported
Arturs.

The officials said the department of weights and measures was not
involved in the verification although their department handled false
declaration cases.

"All matters related to false entries on import declaration forms
are dealt with under the Trade Descriptions Act, and this was not
the case with the Artur brothers’ container," they said.

Besides KRA, government agencies supposed to be involved in the
check are the weights and measures department and the Kenya Bureau
of Standards.

Other government officials have questioned why the brothers’
container opened on Friday was not subjected to total verification
as is required.

"A 100 per cent verification requires that all goods being subjected to
such an exercise are removed from a container and a stock taken before
being returned into the container, but this is not what happened,"
one of them said.

During the verification, all the goods were removed, but they were not
checked item by item, or stock-taking done before they were returned
into the container, he added.

But KRA defended itself, saying that it was not compulsory for all
goods to be verified and an inventory done.

Questions were raised also over why the container bottom was not
inspected as there were suspicions that it had a false compartment.

In a separate development, port detectives said they were waiting
for instructions to start investigating a firm supplying goods to the
Nakumatt supermarkets chain following reports of massive tax evasion.

"We’re yet to get instructions to commence the investigations following
the disclosure in Parliament of rampant tax evasion," one said.